Google Collected Sensitive WiFi Data Extensively, Agency Says

The problems for Google’s Street View service do not seem to be ending as the French data security agency has concluded that the tech giant collected WiFi location data extensively, following an investigation.

According to tech website CNET, the French data protection authority, Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), has confirmed that the California-based Google Inc indulged in the extensive practice of collecting personal data and locations from unsecured wireless connections. The agency has accused the search giant of making the sensitive data available online a few days back.

“The cars were supposed to collect the locations of Wi-Fi access points. But Google also recorded the street addresses and unique identifiers of computers and other devices using those wireless networks and then made the data publicly available,” the report noted.

While Google has accepted the fault and has stated that the company mistakenly collected the data, it also assured that it was kept safely by the company. However, all assurances have proven wrong as the data was found to be available online, raising questions on the irresponsible behaviour of the company that runs world’s largest search engine.

The data collected across unsecured WiFi channels is apparently not in the public domain anymore, though Google has declined to comment on the report.